Give up and buy a proper soundcard already
Most onboard laptop speakers don't sound much better than a tin can tied to a string, but Synaptics thinks they might have the solution: their new SpeakerPad which combines a speaker and a touchpad into one goofy-looking, pointer-controlling, sound-blasting unit (we seriously hope that wave design is optional). We seem to remember the whole flat-panel speaker setup which uses the same technology as the SpeakerPad not working out too well, as the speaker's performance was, shall we say, lacking (not to mention how annoying all that vibration will be when you're trying to use the touchpad). You can't fight physics: speakers need space to sound good and space is simply at a premium on laptops. Sure the SpeakerPad might sound a tad better than built-in speakers, but the best way to get decent sound from a laptop is to use headphones. To get good sound you need an external sound card, no two ways about it.
[Thanks, Ethan]
